Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Roman Catholic Cemetery
St. Hedwig, Bexar County, Texas
Marker Inscription
In December 1854, Polish settlers began arriving in eastern Bexar County from their homeland in Upper Silesia. The early community of fewer than 20 families was called Martinez. In 1857, residents built a mission log church on the land of Ludwig Zaiontz (0.4 mi. W). Adjacent to the church, which was served by traveling priests, the local settlers established a cemetery. The first known burial was that of the Rev. Julian Przysiecki in November 1863. Przysiecki's death, the result of a fall from his horse, left the church without a Polish-speaking priest for some time. In 1868, the community built a new church dedicated to the Virgin Mary. In 1872, church members chartered a new cemetery at this site, reinterring burials from the original site. Residents changed the settlement's name to St. Hedwig in honor of Silesia's patron saint. Today, gravestones indicate the ethnic heritage of the community, which has included residents of Polish descent as well as those with German, Hispanic, Irish, Alsatian and other surnames. Historic Texas Cemetery - 2005
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Beginning in December 1854, Polish families from Upper Silesia settled eastern Bexar County in a community first called Martinez, building a log mission church by 1857 and a cemetery beside it. The first known burial, in 1863, was of Rev. Julian Przysiecki, killed in a fall from his horse, leaving the settlers without a Polish-speaking priest. A new church to the Virgin Mary followed in 1868, the present cemetery was chartered in 1872, and the town was renamed St. Hedwig for Silesia's patron saint.
Why it matters
St. Hedwig is part of the oldest wave of Polish immigration to America, and its cemetery preserves the layered Polish, German, Hispanic, and other heritages that built rural Texas.
Plan your visit
NearbyMake a day of it — museums, food, and places to stay near this marker.
Attractions
- Green Acres Golf and Games6.1 mi away
- Amazing Air12.9 mi away · 7702 North Interstate Highway 35, San Antonio, TX
- Off-Road Adventure Ride14.0 mi away
- Morgan's Wonderland14.0 mi away · 5223 David Edwards Drive, San Antonio, TX
- San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo14.0 mi away
- Morgan's Inspiration Island14.1 mi away · 5223 David Edwards Drive, San Antonio, TX
Places data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Hours and details change — call ahead.
Own a business near here? Add it to the map.
Related people
- · Rev. Julian Przysiecki
- · Ludwig Zaiontz
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Concrete Cemetery
La Vernia, TX
Concrete Cemetery grew out of the land of James Henry Newton, who brought his family from Mississippi about 1851–52 and set aside a burial ground when his brother Joel died in 1856, though an 1855 grave suggests earlier use. The surrounding community—first called Bethesda, then Concrete—took its name from an 1858 concrete building that served as school, church, and Masonic hall. Newton deeded the tract formally in 1875, and the cemetery came to hold both Anglo and Hispanic sections, with more than 800 burials of pioneers, veterans, and children.
Boecker Cemetery
Seguin, TX
When Friedrich Boecker was buried in 1880 in a corner of his 203-acre farm, he began what became a neighborhood cemetery for the German farm families nearby. Over the next fourteen years eleven more were laid to rest here before his son sold two acres to trustees in 1896, formally establishing Boecker Cemetery. A cemetery association formed in 1901, charging a modest membership fee that carried burial rights, and the grounds still serve the settlers' descendants today.
Bowen's Island
San Antonio, TX
This peninsula in the San Antonio River, once bounded by water on three sides and the Concepcion Acequia on the fourth, was bought in 1845 by Philadelphia native John Bowen. He and his family built a seven-room home, planted orchards and vineyards, and ran a waterwheel-irrigated truck farm; Bowen served as city postmaster and treasurer and, a staunch Unionist, reportedly sheltered fugitive slaves. The island became a beloved gathering spot, hosting the first Volksfest and the German Turnverein before the river was diverted in the 1920s and joined it to the mainland.
Site of Dietz Community
Seguin, TX
In 1851 the Jamaica-born land agent Jacob De Cordova settled beside good springs on the San Antonio Road, building a home that doubled as a stage stop and mail station. The land passed through a cluster of German bachelors—earning it names like "Nine Men's House"—before the Dietz brothers gave it their name and Johann Stautzenberger anchored it with a store, post office, and school. A singing society, the Frohsinn Maennerchor, and Friedens Church grew out of the little schoolhouse before consolidation, better roads, and the automobile quietly erased the town.